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Affordable Men's Style

The new sub $200 Monk Strap Champ

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In Person: Ciro Lendini Single Monkstrap Loafer – $167.00

Shuffle over Mercanti Fiorentini.  You’ve done a great job carrying the torch for sub $200, made in Italy, decent quality monk straps.  But your time has come to relinquish the title to a similar sounding brand, only this one is available through Yoox instead of DSW.

For about $20 more than the Mercanti double monk ($149.95 vs. $167 plus shipping) you get the following:

  • Thicker, better feeling leather – It’s not Allen Edmonds quality leather, but it feels sturdy enough.
  • A more solid feeling shoe overall – The buckles seem especially stronger and better made.  Double row of stitching for the cap toe is nice too.
  • A toe shape that no one can argue against – Not even a hint of chisel.  Nicely rounded, but still slim through the sides and into the toe box.
  • Slick, single monk lines – These look more dressed up than double monks thanks to the noticeable closed lacing type of stitching on the vamp.  Makes a difference.

What you don’t get, is the always available free shipping code DSW seems to provide.  While these did just dip down into the $130s during the Yoox birthday sale, it might be a while until they get discounted.  And $167 + shipping isn’t cheap.  There’s also no half sizes available.  Say you’re like me, with a 10.5 normal but slightly wide foot.  A 10 will be too small, but an 11 might slip a bit at first (there’s always heel grips).

Will be watching for sales on these for sure.  Available in a dark brown or the black shown here.  Sole is that glazed leather looking type, so not rubber.  Absolutely suit worthy, and looking forward to pairing them up with everything from jeans to worsted wool to flannel.

Just one complaint on these out of the box: The buckles had a few black stain/polish/coloring splotches on them that easily came off by fingernail, but maybe that’s a bad sign?  Will update if they self destruct.  So far, they appear to be a bargain if you can catch a sale.  Leave your take in the comments…

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Comments

  3. These look kinda awkward to me.

    Like someone put a vagina in the middle of a monkstrap. Once you see it, it can’t be unseen.

  4. I’m not crazy about the strap on these monks either. I prefer the look of the Ciro double monks but wish they were on sale for under $150.

  5. I never thought single monks looked as good as double monks. That is most certainly the case in this situation.

  7. Yeah, I have to agree with everyone else on this one. I concede that the toe shape is sex, but everything else just seems a bit awkward.

  8. I don’t understand the attraction to this type of shoe. To me you look like a pilgrim.

  11. Sorry, but these are gorgeous. So nice to see something other than the ho-hum standard conservative monk straps that seem to just be clones of each other. These have some flair and originality. I know that’s not a popular quality amongst Dappered readers, but I appreciate it.

  17. Oddly enough, the shoes ARE under the Women’s section on the Yoox webpage (even though they’re men’s shoes). Maybe there IS more than a hint of a feminine touch to them…

  19. I can understand that. But to me the vamp is very empty at the bottom. Unless you are wearing a skinny/short pant, the buckle will likely be covered by the pant leg & all anyone will see is this big empty vampgina.

  20. Agreed that the toe is gorgeous, but I’m not sold on the overall design.
    For a teeny bit more, I’d go for these:
    http://www.herringshoes.co.uk/product-info.php?&brandid=6&catid=50&shoeid=4382&selectedsizeid=5&selectedfitid=2&stype=1

    There’s a free shoe tree coupon out there somewhere and they usually ship the shoes with a tin of polish, so that more than makes up for the 20 odd bucks in price difference. Still under $200 though.

    …and dare I say coz it’s a taboo term here, these are goodyear welted.

  26. Nope. But for those who are looking for a good shoe value that are willing to spend a little (okay, $55) more, maybe it would be a good alternative.

  27. Fair enough, but I got this pair during a 20% off sale, which puts them at $133.60. Great looking shoe though that you linked to. Love the whole cuts.

  29. Yeah I understand that, but there does exist some hostility around these parts that IMO, can be done without.

    I know you wear GY welted shoes, Joe and at the same price, wouldn’t you pick a GY welted shoe over a bonded one? (This has nothing to do with the above line, just asking).

  30. This is one of the least hostile men’s style sites on the net. Comments section has gotten a little sharp lately, but that’s a recent thing. Exploring options on how to turn it around.

    Per the Goodyear vs. Bonded question. That’s rhetorical right? And the shoes you linked to aren’t aesthetically similar to these. Quite different in my opinion. The shoes you linked to also appear to be sold out, and if I recall, they were sold out when you posted the link? Maybe there were a few sizes left?

    It’ll be hard to find a goodyear welted shoe in a wide array of sizes for $130 (these at 20% off, which was the purchase price). Look, we can agree to disagree and move on. Right?

  31. No, that’s not rhetorical. It’s a question only those who have had experience wearing GY welted shoes can answer.

    The shoes that I linked were in stock at the point of linking, but are gone now because they were on sale. Yeah, they are more of a British style while these are Italian, but they were no grampa shoes either.

    While it’s true that a decent GY welted shoe is hard to find at full price, there does exist such items during sale periods. And it is my honest belief that if, at the same price, there are two shoes with different construction methods, the one with the better construction should be in the spotlight. That goes for anything, really. Not just shoes.

    I think you’ve got the wrong notion that I’m hell bent on disagreeing with you. Far from it. What I did was offer a different voice. Another opinion.

    p.s. I just bought a pair of blake stitched shoes last week (And loving them too), so it’s not like I’m all “GOOD YEAR WELTED OR DIE” either.

  32. No, that’s not rhetorical. It’s a question only those who have had experience wearing GY welted shoes can answer.

    The shoes that I linked were in stock at the time of linking, but are gone now because they were on sale. Yeah, they are more of a British style while these are Italian, but they were no grampa shoes either.

    While it’s true that a decent GY welted shoe is hard to find at full price, there does exist such items during sale periods. And it is my honest belief that if, at the same price, there are two shoes with different construction methods, the one with the better construction should be in the spotlight. That goes for anything, really. Not just shoes.

    I think you’ve got the wrong notion that I’m hell bent on disagreeing with you. Far from it. What I did was offer a different voice. Another opinion.

    p.s. I just bought a pair of blake stitched shoes last week (And loving them too), so it’s not like I’m all “GOOD YEAR WELTED OR DIE” either.